Tarp it, cover it and keep it in your bed

Trash Talk - Keeping Eastern Madera County beautiful

(Updated: Thursday, November 06, 2008, 1:05 PM)

Driving on California roads, you often see lost cargo such as chairs, tires, wood, mattresses, buckets and clothes.

While by no means unique to California, pickup trucks and other vehicles piled high with improperly secured loads are a fact of life here.

California has laws regarding uncovered/secured loads which impose fines on drivers "if anything other than feathers from live birds or water escapes" the vehicle.

Unfortunately these laws and fines are not being enforced, which is why we see more and more litter and debris on our county roads and highways.

More and more roadside litter is unintentional or negligent litter from poorly secured or covered loads, and that is becoming a real problem and eyesore.

While Americans view litter as a minor offense and continue to toss cups, fast food wrappers, cigarette butts and food items onto roadsides and carry uncovered loads in open vehicles, the latter can have serious consequences.

The American Automobile Association reports debris falling from vehicles causes over 80 fatalities a year in California alone.

Litter, whether it is deliberate or unintentional, is a neglected and yet obvious form of environmental blight. California spends $55 million a year to remove roadside litter, but it still remains a problem.

Unintentional litter can be: miscellaneous paper and plastic (such as cardboard boxes newspaper, magazines, food packaging), wood and yard debris, vehicle debris (tires, auto parts), packing material, construction and demolition material, furniture, metal, and carpet.

This is just a small list of commonly seen items -- what things have you seen flying or falling out of a vehicle lately?

There are things that you can do to prevent these items from escaping your load:

Cover all loads going to the dump/disposal site with a tarp.

Secure large items with a net or rope.

Secure trash can lids before transporting to the disposal site.

Small loose items should be bagged or boxed before transporting.

Avoid piling items high on your vehicle, the lower they are, the less likely they will be to fall out.

Make trips to the disposal site more often to avoid overloaded vehicles.

Recycle as much as you can to minimize your loads to the dump.

Take time in packing and covering any load that will be carried on major highways and roads to prevent lost cargo.

Avoid throwing small items such as wrappers or beverage cans into an open truck bed -- they can fly out the next time you drive somewhere.

Those of us traveling along the major roads in our state should always be cautious when traveling behind or next to an uncovered open vehicle.

We can reduce litter and the blight it causes; enjoy our surroundings and the beauty of our area, by being aware of our unintentional littering.

You and your efforts are valuable and can make a difference. Do your part to Keep California Beautiful.

Through the efforts of each one of us, we can make a difference, one community at a time. Ref: www.mswmanagement.com, travel-babel.blogspot.com

Reduce, reuse and recycle to decrease waste, preserve our natural resources, and keep Eastern Madera County beautiful.

Susie Tomlinson; submitted by the North Fork Chamber of Commerce subcommittee, Keep Eastern Madera County Beautiful, a proud community member of Keep California Beautiful.